Welcome to my blog on the top 3 essential wedding tips to plan an awesome wedding from the ‘no ordinary wedding planner’. I’m often asked what I think are key ingredients for success so here we go!

1. Managing your wedding budget

Lets get this right – you don’t need a fortune to have an awesome wedding. I’ve seen the best weddings on a tight budget – its how you spend and manage your money that matter.

Looking after the pennies is vitally important. You need to start out with an expectation of what you want to spend to avoid a wedding budget spiralling out of control. And believe me I’ve seen it happen – the wedding industry is full of so many great ideas (you know all those Pinterest boards!) but you don’t have to have them all – it’s about picking the ones which are right for you both.

top wedding tips for managing your budget

Understand upfront contributions from family – it can be an awkward conversation but you need to know
Do your research on average wedding costs – understand market prices – don’t get ripped off by over zealous suppliers who take the advantage of the word ‘wedding’. Alternatively pick the brains of wedding planners like myself who know the local marketplace and can help you
Always set a contingency – you will need it even its only for those little extras which can add up
Be aware of, and plan for, hidden costs – what do I mean? Things such as postage, VAT, delivery costs, corkage charges …….
Create yourself a budget spreadsheet so you know where you are over and under spending. It really does help.

2. Create a wedding day plan

Create a plan! What do I mean – setting up a wedding day timetable which sets out what is meant to be happening and when will make sure everyone is aligned to your vision. And don’t plan to do anything yourselves – you need to enjoy your wedding day!

top wedding tips for planning your wedding

Set up a wedding day timetable and distribute to all key suppliers – get confirmation that they understand what they are doing and when
Always confirm all suppliers 2 weeks before your wedding day
Delegate tasks to other members of the wedding party e.g. corralling family for photos.
Mark items which can be flexible on timing – something always runs late
Set up a wedding contact list of all your suppliers so its to hand if required

3. Choose the right suppliers

This one seems obvious but you need to pick the right suppliers.

For your key suppliers such as photographer, videographer, wedding planner – things will go far more smoothly if you get on with them. Imagine your wedding photographs if you don’t actually like your photographer! Eek!

You also need to vet them to make sure they are reliable and not going to let you down – don’t just take the one on the top of the Google search!

Top wedding tips for vetting wedding suppliers

Check out their experience
Review recent testimonials or reviews
Confirm they have the right insurances in place – we have public liability insurance up to £2m for example
Don’t just go by venue recommended supplier lists – some recommended supplier lists require payments to the venue to be included – there is only one way the supplier is going to recover this payment – by raising their prices to you! I had an example recently where a recommended supplier was £200 more expensive than the market price for the same product
Make sure they give you a contract – and read it! Check cancellation clauses and understand the obligations on you and them

Happy Planning!

Linzi x

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Feature photo courtesy of Aaron Storry Photography

Lizzy and Emma confetti picture courtesy of Natalie J Weddings

Red wedding / motorbike picture courtesy of Lumiere Wedding Photography